The World Wide Web is currently a subject of intense and rapidly growing interest. The World Wide Web is composed of interconnected data sources that are accessible to computer Users through data-communication networks such as the Internet. The data available on the World Wide Web has been assembled by private individuals, commercial companies, government agencies, and special interest organizations. Much of this assembled information is organized into Web pages. A Web site is a collection of Web pages (and possibly other data which, together with Web pages, are generically referred to as Web components) offered by a sponsoring entity, herein referred to as the site owner.
Large Web sites are typically organized hierarchically. For example, corporate Web sites often consist of smaller Web sites, each providing information about a business unit of the parent company.
The Web site itself resides on one or more server hosts. Web components stored on the server host are offered to Users of the World Wide Web through a software program known as a Web server. A network User uploads or downloads data from a Web site through a browser, a software program running on the client host. The browser establishes contact with the Web server and issues a request for data stored on the server host. This results in data from the server host being downloaded into the browser. This data is typically a HyperText document specifying information required by the browser to display the Web page (i.e., formatting information specifying the structure of the page, or URLs of images that are to be placed on the page), embedded client software programs which run inside the browser (e.g., Java script code), and other content to be downloaded to the client computer or displayable through client software programs that add to the browser's functionality (sometimes referred to as “browser plug-ins”).
Currently, Web pages are typically defined using HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”). HTML provides a standard set of tags that define how a Web page is to be displayed. When a User indicates to the browser to display a Web page, the browser sends a request to the server computer system to transfer to the client computer system an HTML document that defines the Web page. When the requested HTML document is received by the client computer system, the browser displays the Web page as defined by the HTML document. The HTML document contains various tags that control the displaying of text, graphics, controls, and other features. The HTML document may contain URLs of other Web pages available on that server computer system or other server computer systems.
As more and more demand, and the use of technology enter peoples' lives, there exists a great need for people to be able to contact experts and Service Providers easily and quickly on any topic or subject via the Internet. While many companies have web pages and/or telephone support lines, most do not offer the most convenient and integrated way for potential clients to reach them, nor a simple, automated, yet comprehensive method for charging for their services.
There is a need for a system, especially an Internet-based system, that will enable customers to easily and quickly connect to Service Providers from Internet-based icons located in a broad collection of vehicles such as individual websites, website directories, emails, or online advertisement banners, so that these Service Providers can reach and assist these customers with their questions, in return for fair and agreed-upon payment.
Advice services are currently offered through a variety of methods and techniques utilizing the telephone and/or the Internet. A consumer seeking advice on any number of various topics can search in a telephone book's yellow pages, for example, and make a basic telephone call. But advice service providers are not able to effectively or efficiently charge time-based fees for their service in this model, nor are consumers guaranteed that the service provider will be available. Further, Internet searching is steadily replacing traditional yellow pages searches by consumers.
1-900 phone systems do enable service providers to charge for their services on a time-elapsed model. However, 1-900 systems also are not able to take advantage of the massive trend of consumers increasingly using the Internet to search for what they want and need, including advice on various topics. Further, single 1-900 numbers have restricted scope and flexibility with regard to service and price, as well as limited consumer trust with regards to billing and quality of service provided.
Currently, there are systems available that facilitate the delivery of advice to consumers in real-time via the Internet utilizing telecommunications systems. However, such systems have created such a massive directory with thousands upon thousands of individual listings in any given category that it has become overwhelming for consumers to determine their choice. Likewise, it has become near impossible for the large majority of individual service providers to attract any interested consumers, as the rigid nature of the directory listing system allows extremely limited opportunities for a particular service provider to differentiate their service among the thousands of others in the same list.
Consequently, there is a need for a system to enable the provision of advice service through both the Internet and telecommunications that can overcome all of the limitations described above. Such a system, which empowers and utilizes independent Agents within its inventive framework and creative methods, is hereinafter described.